The Man I Thought I Trusted - E. L. Todd Page 0,32
behind me. His arm circled my waist, and he pressed his chest against my back, squeezing me tight.
I turned over and faced him, let him see my wet and puffy face, let him see the heartbreak in my eyes. My arm moved around his neck, and I placed our foreheads together, feeling a little better now that he was there.
He placed a kiss to my forehead then ran his fingers through my hair. “I’m here, sweetheart. I’m right here.”
11
Carson
Hours passed, and neither one of us spoke. I didn’t want to dump all my drama on him when I wanted him to make me feel better, not worse.
Just having him there made me feel better.
He spooned me from behind, his face resting against the back of my head.
Then my stomach made a loud rumble.
He inhaled a deep breath like he was trying to stop himself from laughing.
No amount of depression could eliminate my hunger.
“Do you want me to get you something to eat?”
“No. But I am hungry…”
“Charlie told me he would leave the leftovers in the fridge if we wanted any.”
Now that we were talking about food, my anger only became worse. “Let’s go eat.”
We got dressed and went back into the kitchen. Charlie was sitting on the couch watching the game, but he didn’t say anything when we came out of my bedroom. It seemed like he wanted to give us space.
I pulled out the food from the fridge, my eyes still puffy and irritated, and put the meal in the microwave.
Dax helped himself to a bottle of water and stood with me in the kitchen as we waited for the food to warm up.
I leaned against the counter and stared at the floor.
He stared at me.
When the food was done, we sat together at the dining table, in silence.
Even when it wasn’t fresh, the food was great, and I did feel a little better having something in my stomach.
Dax watched me as he ate, taking big bites as he scarfed everything down.
Charlie picked up on the energy and turned off the TV and silently excused himself to bed.
Then it was just us.
“I wish I could fix it for you.”
My eyes softened at his confession, and I gave him a gentle look. “I know.”
“At the end of the day, you did your best. If that’s not enough for her, that’s her problem, not yours. She’s too emotional to see the situation pragmatically, and you would never intentionally hurt anybody.”
“Thanks for trying to make me feel better, but no matter what the circumstances are, losing a friend is always painful.”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks for coming over.”
“Anytime, sweetheart. Rain or shine, I’m here.”
I didn’t say anything else and continued to eat. When my plate was empty, I wiped up the sauce with my finger and licked it off.
“Are you going to try talking to her again or…give it a rest?”
I shrugged. “I’m not a quitter, but…” I also didn’t waste time on lost causes. “I think it’s pretty pointless. If that’s how she feels, nothing I say will make her feel differently. It is what it is.”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t want to talk about her anymore. I shed my tears and said my goodbyes…time to move on.”
Dax bowed his head and looked at his plate as he considered what I’d said. It seemed like he might say something else, but he chose to stay quiet instead.
12
Charlie
Instead of going straight home from the office, I made a detour.
Nothing had happened between Denise and me, but she made flirty comments, stared at me a little longer than she should. So, I knew if I made a move…it would probably go somewhere. But instead of thinking about her, all I could think about was Kat.
And Carson.
Because of my idiocy, those two great people were ripped apart.
It fucking sucked.
I tried to think of something better I could have done, but there wasn’t anything. I felt the way I felt—and nothing I did could change that. The only reason I didn’t tell Kat was to protect her. It wasn’t because I was a coward.
So I stepped off the elevator and walked down the hallway I used to take all the time. Whenever I left work, I would stop by. Sometimes I would pick her up and we would get dinner. Sometimes we would just chill in her apartment. It seemed like a lifetime ago now.
We were happy…once upon a time.
I stopped in front of her door and held my fist to the wood.